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About the program
The program consists of ten two-hour sessions during which mothers and daughters study in chevruta related Jewish sources in preparation for the girl’s Bat Mitzvah. Centered around the theme "Jewish Women Through the Ages", the program focuses on Jewish role models, among them: Rivka, Miriam, Yocheved, Devorah, Channah, Esther, Bruriah, Dona Gracia, Nechama Leibowitz, Rabbanit Bracha Kapach of Jerusalem and Avital Sharansky. The women were selected for the program because they embody positive attributes and values from which the girls can learn. The girls gain insight into the world of Jewish women. The image of the "ideal Jewish woman" they realize, can be embodied in many different ways, all of them legitimate. As the girls reach maturity, these varied paths can be used as a basis for each one to develop her own unique model of the Jewish woman. Encountering these women through varied sources, both mothers and daughters are able to appreciate the uniqueness of these women’s lives in relationship not only to the period in which they lived but to modern times as well. The aim is to see how we, as Jewish women, are part of a chain across the generations, and how the Bat Mitzvah can serve as a bridge connecting the young girl to Jewish continuity.
At each meeting the learning session is accompanied by an experiential activity related to the relevant figure or subject. Each activity creates a different atmosphere and invites different modes of self-expression such as creative dance, music, theater, art and guided imagery. The underlying principle is that a successful learning experience is based not on the intellect, but draws on other realms of the personality, among them, emotions and creativity. Each girl is encouraged to prepare a special project for her Bat Mitzvah on the subject "Aishet Chayil", selecting a woman from Tanakh or history, a family member or any other inspiring woman. These projects often serve as the basis for the Bat Mitzvah girl's derasha.
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